Have you ever found yourself wishing that there was a way to operate a microwave oven remotely, so that you can easily warm up your food and drinks without having to waste precious time walking over to the kitchen to do so? Well, the good news is that such a wish is now one step closer to reality, for LG has announced the availability of a new microwave oven which allows you to…wait for it…control it remotely via a smartphone. No, really.

Picture this situation; you are rushing a deadline for work (or school), and there is some frozen, processed food sitting in the microwave oven waiting to thaw out so that you can heat it up. But therein lies the problem; you are so busy that you do not even have time to visit the restroom, much less make the trip to the kitchen to push some buttons needed to operate the microwave oven. As a result, the food never gets warmed up, and you pass the rest of the day with an empty stomach and a grouchy mood.

Sounds familiar? Well, leave it to LG to solve that problem with its novel solution of allowing one to remotely operate the microwave oven. Not with a remote control, though, but rather, with that very smartphone that you have in your pocket right now.

According to LG, the new microwave oven, which is slated to be released some time in the later part of August, will make use of WiFi technology to allow for such remote operation between itself and an Android-powered smartphone. Details about how the Korean company intends to do this is scarce, but the machine translation seems to suggest that LG will release a smartphone app known as “LG Lightwave Oven Studios” to facilitate the remote access between an Android smartphone and the aforementioned microwave oven. In addition, the app will reportedly allow users to not only operate the oven via a smartphone, but to also set certain options to ensure that food gets heated up and cooked properly with minimal loss of nutrients.

Sounds good? Well, the bad news LG has not released any details about the oven's global availability, if at all. However, if it is of any consolation, the oven can be bought in Korea at the price of 599,000 won, or approximately US$553.